The claim that heavy weight training can damage the growth plates of
prepubescent youngsters has been around for many years, but no clinical studies
have yet corroborated that assertion. In fact, bone density scans have shown
exactly the opposite, namely that youngsters who do weightlifting have a higher
bone density than children who do not use weights. Clinical records have not
shown any correlation between heavy weight training and epiphysial damage or any
of those other problems that you have mentioned.
As a matter of fact, RHABDOMYOLYSIS in the healthy person is far more commonly
associated with excessive amounts of strenuous muscle endurance exercise such as
marathon running. For those who would like to read more about this disorder,
here are a few websites that will help:
http://adam.excite.com/info/?id=000473
http://members.tripod.com/~baggas/rhabdo.html
Where does that information on 'permanent adhesions' on the musculotendinous
junction come from? This junction is not really a clearly defined junction,
anyway. The muscle gradually becomes more and more collagenous towards its ends
and in the tendon it becomes almost entirely collagenous, then as the tendon
approaches the bone to which it attaches, it becomes progressively more 'bony',
until it fuses into the periosteum at its bony insertion. This is a very
intelligent design because a sharply defined musculotendinous junction would be
more susceptible to damage than a continuum of tissue structure extending from
one bony attachment to another.
It would be difficult to imagine how permanent adhesions could take place 'on'
this region because of the powerful movement of the tendon during forceful
movement that would tend to minimise any chance of such adhesions forming.
A close colleague of mine who is a well known orthopaedic surgeon and sports
medical specialist and who has treated, operated upon or studied the joints of
tens of thousands of patients of all ages over a career spanning more than 35
years reported at a sports medicine seminar that he had never been able to
categorically show that any given weight training regime or vigorous sporting
regime produced premature closure of the epiphyses in healthy, well nourished
individuals.
A major confounding factor is that most children run, jump and carry out other
very impulsive activities which impose far greater forces on the joints than
squatting or deadlifting even 3 times bodymass. Many of us who have carried out
research in biomechanics have shown that the forces experienced by the body
during running, jumping, hitting and landing often exceed 4 times bodyweight.
While squatting or deadlifting a load of 275lbs may seem to impose huge loads on
the joints of a youngster that figure can easily be doubled during running and
jumping. In other words, if we are to base our judgment on the basis of
magnitude of force imposed on the body, then we ought to ban all running and
jumping from schools.
It is not weight training or indeed any sport per se which causes injury, but
the manner in which it is performed. A technically well executed lifting
exercise is perfectly safe. A poorly executed squat is just as dangerous as poor
running or jumping style. Excessive intensities and volumes of weight training,
running, cycling and indeed any other physical activity can produce injury.
The important point to make here is that the motor skills of all sports and
physical training should be rigorously taught to children and coaches to
minimise the risk of injury. That, of course, includes creating a deep awareness
of the phenomenon of overtraining. It is unnecessarily alarming to single out
weight training as a proven cause of epiphysial damage and retarded growth. That
simply is not scientifically correct.
Dr Mel C Siff
Denver, USA
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